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Well mine were on like they were welded. The wires wouldn't even come off but I had new ones ready so I tore and cut them until I got them. The plugs were difficult but with the right tools they loosen.
FYI, use a little never seize on the plug threads and dielectric grease on the inside of the wire boots to help them slide on so you can hear or feel the click on the plugs.
I just did the plugs and wires on my '99. I'm 64 and probably more mechanically inclined than most. I took short breaks between each cylinder, and it took me right at 3 1/2 hours. I lost about 1/4 pound of skin, mostly on the back of my hands and knuckles. Lots of chances for dropped tools/parts. The dropped things don't always fall through on the vette. Ask me how I know.
Go to Youtube and search for "froggy c5 corvette spark plugs". The video helped me a bunch.
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If the plugs and wires are the original ones, you may have some problems getting them off the car, but they'll eventually break loose. The only plug I had problems getting to was #7 (last plug on driver's side) - a ratchet with extensions and swivels worked best.
As mentioned above, use some anti-seize and dielectric grease when putting the plugs/wires back on the car.
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they aren't hard to do but if the car is stock there are some things in the way that you will have to work around, most notably the air injection pipes... the right socket will make the job easier, I have a matco spark plug socket that has a swivel built into it that works great
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Tip: Take the time to remove your driver's side coil pack assembly. IIRC, it's only 5 bolts for the bracket, unplug the main electrical connector in the center, then pop off all 4 plug boots from the coils. Five or ten minutes MAX.
You have been warned and your hands will thank you, ESPECIALLY come time for dealing with #7.
I changed spark plugs and wires on my 02 with 50k miles that's all original. 18 yr old plugs and wires didn't come out easily. I only changed out for peace of mind. I believe the plugs would of lasted to 100k but not the wires. Since I was changing wires anyways I pulled on the wires to get them out. The ones that ripped apart, ripped with minimal force. Maybe #3-6 get the most heat from headers? After all of this the idle completely smoothed out. Went back with AC Delco plugs and GM performance red wires (added wire boots). 3,4 and 5 were brittle. Once ripped appart this was my way of pulling off of spark plug. Good to see all spark plugs with same burn color. Vacuum hoses out of the way to get to #7.
